Lesnar's act embarrasses UFC all the way to the bank

UFC was very very sorry. And if everyone will agree to another day's worth of headlines, UFC can find it in its heart to be very very sorry again.

Saturday night, Brock Lesnar destroyed Frank Mir to win the headline event of UFC 100. And then he shocked — just shocked — the crowd at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Lesnar taunted his opponent, flipped off the fans, said he prefers Coors Light to the UFC's sponsor "because Bud Light won't pay me nothing" and told the crowd of his celebration plans: "Hell, I may even get on top of my wife tonight."

But don't worry. Dana White, the president who built Ultimate Fighting Championship into the premier mixed martial arts circuit, corrected Lesnar's behavior quickly. To wit: He made the ogre drink a Bud Light at the post-fight press conference.

Whew. Glad that all cleared up.

The UFC crowd loved it, of course. Tens of millions of people paid $44.95, or $54.95 to get the blood spatter in HD, and were pleased they got their money's worth. Lesnar is new to the circuit, only 4-1. But his act is nothing new, as he's a crossover from WWE.

"That's not who Brock really is, and what he did out there is not real," White said. "You don't have to act like someone you're not. This isn't the WWE. I'm not trying to get someone to act all crazy so we'll do more pay-per-views. That's not what this sport is about."

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No, not at all, not what this sport is about. This is the same Dana White whose previous foray into mainstream sports media was a homophobic and sexist rant, in the most vile terms possible, against a reporter who had gotten a story entirely correct but in a manner that displeased White. So, yeah, White apologizing for etiquette doesn't carry a whole lot of truth.

It is by now a time-honored ritual. MMA spectacle attracts curiosity, some of the action and behavior doesn't please a more traditional mainstream base, MMA's core fans love it, MMA bosses lament, rinse, repeat and ask the casual fan to come back.

But MMA doesn't need to reach into the mainstream. Instead, the mainstream is reaching into MMA. UFC is one of the most successful sports ventures of the last half-century and would be just fine without ever attracting a new fan; meanwhile new fans keep pouring in, even as the event looks like nothing but a freak show to an older audience or one that believes sports should involve a little bit of sportsmanship.

To use the great cliché of our time, it is what it is.

Or to apply it to an MMA world, it @#%#@$ is whatever the @#%#@$ it is, #$^%&%.